The Humours Of Ballyloughlin

Jig, D Mixolydian, traditional Irish
Also known as: The Humours of Derryloughlin; The Hurler’s March
Tune of the Week February 4, 2024; February 16, 2025

This traditional Irish jig has four parts, qualifying it as a “big tune.” Big and charming, it can be a whole tune set by itself.

This tune is in D Mixolydian, so C notes in the tune are C-natural, not C-sharp (with one exception). If you are a bit hazy on the Mixolydian mode, see the article “Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell” for a brief and friendly explanation.

Recordings

• Video – Niall & Cillian Vallely: The Humours Of Derryloughan / Old Tipperary – played on concertina  (Niall) and uilleann pipes (Cillian). From the album Callan Bridge
• Video – Kevin Lees: Irish Jigs ‘Humours of Ballyloughlin & Kilfenora’ – played by Sigurd Hockings (guitar) & Kevin Lees (violin). (Kilfenora is also know as “The Old Favorite”.)
• Video – Aistear Folk: The Humours of Ballyloughlin & Jimmy Ward’s Jigs. Played on tin whistle, button accordion, tenor banjo, and guitar.

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference. About the chords: the D5 and G5 chords are “omit 3” chords; in this tune you can generally play D and G chords in their place.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Ballyloughlin – Jimmy Ward Jig Set: The Humours of Ballyloughlin (D Mixolydian) / Jimmy Ward’s (G)
• Leitrim Mountain Jig Set: The Humours of Ballyloughlin (D Mixolydian) / The Leitrim Fancy (E Dorian) / Mist Covered Mountain, The (A Dorian)
• Sliabh Russel / The Humours Of Ballyloughlin
• The Humours Of Ballyloughlin / Coppers and Brass
• The Humours Of Ballyloughlin / The Old Favorite (a.k.a., Kilfenora)
• Ships In Full Sail / The Humours Of Ballyloughlin

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Video – Shane Farrell: The Humours of Ballyloughlin Jig. Irish Tenor Banjo Music – played on solo banjo
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Humours of Ballyloughlin – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
  • Video – Matt Molloy: The Humours Of Ballyloughlin (Jig) – flute solo from the album Matt Molloy
  • Video – Planxty: Solo Jig: Humours Of Ballyloughlin – uilleann pipes solo by Liam O’Flynn, from the album The Well Below The Valley
  • Video – Eileen Ivers: Humours Of Ballyloughlin/Knocknagow – from the album Traditional Irish Music
• Books
  • Book & audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Conor O’Bryan: Humours of Ballyloughlin – Irish Flute – slow/fast – video demonstration
  • Lesson – David Whelan: Irish Tenor Banjo Lesson with Tabs, Sheet Music & Variations (Humours of Ballyloughlin Jig) – video tutorial. Sheet music with tab is shown in video and posted in Facebook.
  • Lesson – Sean Cunningham (whistletutor): The Humors of Ballyloughlin (Jig) Tin Whistle Lesson – Part 1 | Part 2 – video lesson
  • Lesson – pluckingstrings: The Humours of Ballyloughlin – Mandolin – video demonstration of the tune played on mandolin
  • Lesson – Michael Eskin (TradLessons.com): Humours of Ballyloughlin (Uilleann Pipes) – video demonstration of the tune played slowly on pipes
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Jonathan Lay (TrailJams): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell
  • Webpage – Irishtune.info: Humours of Ballyloughlin – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng